This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Remember when the Los Angeles Basin's air pollution was much worse than ours? You don't hear that any longer — and there is a reason. Despite having unfavorable geology (very similar to ours, actually), they found a way to greatly improve their air.
Very simply, someone in California noticed that automobiles were a great part of the problem, as indeed they are in Utah. So California requires very efficient pollution controls on all automobiles sold in the state. The result: much cleaner air.
Requiring pollution controls like California's on Utah vehicles would go a long way toward solving our air problems. Even better, no new technology is required; such vehicles are already manufactured by every automaker, and the infrastructure required to keep vehicles in compliance has already been honed for years. Why don't we take advantage of their experience — it works!
Indeed, the governor's efforts remind me of what we in research and development used to hear from other parts of the company I worked for: "Make our process work better, just don't ask us to change anything." Unless we make real changes, there will be no change in our air quality.
Alan Eastman
Holladay